NIA registers three FIRs to probe fresh incidents of violence in Manipur

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered three cases in connection with the latest instances of violence in the strife-torn Manipur, according to official sources.

The cases, which were originally filed by Manipur Police, were registered by the anti-terror agency on November 13 and the investigation into these cases has begun, the sources said on Monday.

The cases taken over by the NIA are those related to the "murder of a woman at Jiribam by fully armed militants" (FIR registered at Jiribam local police on November 8), "attack on a CRPF post located at Jakuradhor Karong and Borobekra police stations, Jiribam by armed militants" (FIR registered at Borobekra police station on November 11) and "burning of houses and killing of civilian at Borobekra" (FIR registered at Borobekra police station on November 11), they said.

The situation in Manipur, which has been reeling from ethnic strife since May last year, has been volatile following protests and violence after the recovery of bodies of women and children.

Irate mobs set fire to the residences of three more BJP legislators, one of whom is a senior minister, and a Congress MLA in various districts of Imphal Valley on Saturday night even as security forces foiled an attempt by agitators to storm the ancestral residence of Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

On November 11, Manipur Police said 10 suspected militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with security forces after insurgents in camouflage uniforms and armed with sophisticated weapons fired indiscriminately at Borobekra police station and an adjacent CRPF camp at Jakuradhor in Jiribam.

Hours later, suspected militants allegedly abducted six civilians, including women and children from the same district, according to police.

On Saturday, the Union home ministry said all security forces deployed in Manipur have been directed to take necessary steps to restore order and peace in the state.

More than 220 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.

It started after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The ethnically diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by the clashes, witnessed violence after the mutilated body of a farmer was found in a field in June this year.